The Central Valley Trojans 'Starts' team was riding the wave of its first victory just one short week ago, but the wave crashed in a hurry as the visiting Delta Patriots North squad rolled into Riverbank High and dealt the team its second loss of the season in 28-0 fashion.
The Starts squad fell behind early, going into the locker-room at halftime trailing the visitors by four touchdowns, giving the squad a mountain to climb that proved to be too steep.
"When you get a group of kids like we have," Starts head coach and team president Carl Wilson explained, "who are a large group of first year players that have not had to come back after being down two scores, things start unraveling.
"And that is exactly what happened in that game."
The Rookie squad was able to get on the scoreboard in the first half against the Patriots, yet the Delta squad proved to be too much down the stretch, turning a respectable 20-7 halftime game into a lopsided 40-13 victory.
The squad has had to fight through nearly every hurdle imaginable, yet the team continues to push right along, waiting patiently for their first victory of the season.
"I think our main problem is we've had to deal with a lot of injuries," Rookie head coach Robert Gill said. "We had some team members who couldn't finish out the game due to injury.
"Basically we need to stay healthy and keep our players out there for the duration of the game."
The injury bug has decimated the Rookies, losing nearly a running back a week over the past month for one reason or another. The squad is made up of several first year players, making those agitating football injuries more impacting with a group that truly does not know what to expect throughout a football season.
"We have so many first year players that just getting through the bumps and bruises," Gill said, "and knowing that this is football and sometimes you have to play hurt. I'd say about 70 percent of our team are eight and nine-year-olds which is a good thing. Because they're coming back next year and our league will be that much stronger."
The Trojans' JV and varsity squads both were dealt defeats, as the JV team lost a tough challenge 25-12, while the varsity squad was knocked off 34-6. All four units will have to put the losses behind them and make their first road trip in two weeks as they head to Ceres to take on the Ceres Saints with the Starts kicking off action at 10 a.m.
"We're going to be right up the street at Ceres," Wilson said. "So it is not going to be a long travel for us. Being home or away we just have to be able to execute our plays and take care of the football.
"I know I say it week to week, but if we don't take care of the football we will lose and that's cut and dry."
The Starts squad fell behind early, going into the locker-room at halftime trailing the visitors by four touchdowns, giving the squad a mountain to climb that proved to be too steep.
"When you get a group of kids like we have," Starts head coach and team president Carl Wilson explained, "who are a large group of first year players that have not had to come back after being down two scores, things start unraveling.
"And that is exactly what happened in that game."
The Rookie squad was able to get on the scoreboard in the first half against the Patriots, yet the Delta squad proved to be too much down the stretch, turning a respectable 20-7 halftime game into a lopsided 40-13 victory.
The squad has had to fight through nearly every hurdle imaginable, yet the team continues to push right along, waiting patiently for their first victory of the season.
"I think our main problem is we've had to deal with a lot of injuries," Rookie head coach Robert Gill said. "We had some team members who couldn't finish out the game due to injury.
"Basically we need to stay healthy and keep our players out there for the duration of the game."
The injury bug has decimated the Rookies, losing nearly a running back a week over the past month for one reason or another. The squad is made up of several first year players, making those agitating football injuries more impacting with a group that truly does not know what to expect throughout a football season.
"We have so many first year players that just getting through the bumps and bruises," Gill said, "and knowing that this is football and sometimes you have to play hurt. I'd say about 70 percent of our team are eight and nine-year-olds which is a good thing. Because they're coming back next year and our league will be that much stronger."
The Trojans' JV and varsity squads both were dealt defeats, as the JV team lost a tough challenge 25-12, while the varsity squad was knocked off 34-6. All four units will have to put the losses behind them and make their first road trip in two weeks as they head to Ceres to take on the Ceres Saints with the Starts kicking off action at 10 a.m.
"We're going to be right up the street at Ceres," Wilson said. "So it is not going to be a long travel for us. Being home or away we just have to be able to execute our plays and take care of the football.
"I know I say it week to week, but if we don't take care of the football we will lose and that's cut and dry."
